A camera control system capable of remotely controlling one or a plurality of monitoring cameras from a remote place has conventionally been known. In this system, either each camera is fixed to a camera platform to always direct to one direction, or its pan, tilt, and zoom can be externally controlled. The latter camera generally incorporates a function of remotely controlling the image sensing direction and magnification from a surveillance center.
In remotely controlling a plurality of cameras, the arrangement location and direction of each camera must be indicated to the operator. For example, the present applicant has already proposed a camera control system of displaying a graphic pattern (camera icon) representing a camera at a position corresponding to the installation position of each camera superposed on the map of a shop, factory, or building in a surveillance system of installing many cameras in the shop, factory, or building and remotely controlling the cameras.
This camera control system requires a user interface capable of various camera control operations by operating a camera icon on a map with a pointing device such as a mouse. For this purpose, the present applicant has also proposed a method capable of controlling the direction and zoom of a camera by displaying a graphic pattern representing the image sensing range such as a current camera direction and field angle superposed on a camera icon so as to manipulate the graphic pattern with the mouse.
However, demands have arisen for further improvement of the camera control function at a control terminal operable by the user.